After a good night's sleep on Saturday and a day of doing very little, I got a call to say I wasn't needed in Oxford until 5pm on Monday for an evening breeding bird survey. With the forecast looking good, it seemed the perfect opportunity to squeeze in an overnight trip to Norfolk.
I was up at 7am on Sunday, with my first stop being Pitsford Reservoir in Northamptonshire.
My target here was the spectacular Hornet Clearwing, and it's one of the better sites to look for this impressive moth. I arrived around 10:30am, found the Black Poplar trees and put up the pheromone lure. It wasn't long before my first Hornet Clearwing came flying in, quickly followed by a second. Thankfully, both ended up in the trap, allowing some great views before being released.
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At first glance, the Hornet Clearwing looks much more like a hornet than a moth. Its transparent wings, bold yellow-and-black markings, and loud buzzing flight make the disguise incredibly convincing. In reality, it's a completely harmless day-flying moth that relies on this remarkable mimicry to avoid predators.
The larvae spend several years developing holes beneath the bark of mature poplar trees before emerging as adults for a very short flying season in late spring and early summer.
Although they're fairly widespread, they're surprisingly difficult to find without using pheromone lures, making them a real treat to see. It's one of those species that reminds you just how fascinating our insects can be.
With my target safely seen, I carried on to Cranwich Heath in Norfolk, arriving early in the afternoon. I was hoping to catch up with a few of the Breckland speciality day-flying moths that I still needed. The weather couldn't have been much better, warm and sunny with hardly any wind. After a couple of enjoyable hours wandering the heath, I managed to net four new species: Tawny Wave, Oblique-striped, Marbled Clover and Powdered Grass-veneer.
Tawny Wave
Oblique-striped
Marbled Clover
Powdered Grass-veneerAs the afternoon turned into evening, I spent some time searching for Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth. There was plenty of its foodplant, Viper's Bugloss, growing across the site, but despite checking several good-looking patches I couldn't find one.
Forest border of Viper's Bugloss
That's mothing for you; sometimes everything looks perfect, but the species you want simply refuses to show itself.
After a bite to eat, I returned to the heath and set the moth traps ready for the night. Unfortunately, the temperature dropped away quite quickly after dark, and the cold conditions kept moth numbers well down. Even so, there were still a few species to sort through the following morning.
Bird's Wing
Overall, it had been a fantastic 24 hours. Seeing the Hornet Clearwing at close quarters was undoubtedly the highlight, and adding four Breckland specialities made the trip even more worthwhile. With the traps packed away, it was time to head off to Oxford for a week's work, already thinking about the next opportunity to get back out into the field.
